How to Study for the Stanford-Binet Test

As with any assessment, even an IQ test like the Stanford-Binet can be practiced for. While general study rules apply, there are also a host of specific study techniques that can be applied to the different sections of the Stanford-Binet examination to maximize your results.

As mentioned above, general study rules apply to the Stanford-Binet, so we'll cover those first. Maintaining a quiet space free of distraction that is specifically designated for studying is very important, and making sure it is well-stocked with pens, flashcards, and other essential study tools is also a must. Frequent study sessions of shorter duration are also more valuable than long, infrequent study sessions, and while it might be tempting to pull an all-nighter, it's important to be well-rested both when studying and when testing. Finally, remember to take breaks to avoid burning out! Intense studying is always a matter of balancing pushing yourself as hard as you can to do as well as possible on whatever test you're studying for with not pushing yourself too far to where you're not retaining what you're studying and you're actually harming your test-taking abilities through fatigue and the like.

Now, as to study techniques specific to the Stanford-Binet. The Stanford-Binet breaks down into five functions of cognitive ability it tests for: fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spacial processing, and working memory.

Fluid reasoning is the ability to think with flexibility, or out-of-the-box, and to problem-solve. This is one of the simpler sections of the Stanford-Binet to study for: generic brain-teasers such as riddles and puzzles are your best bet.

The knowledge section of the test is a bit trickier to study for, as it tests overall general-topic knowledge, and so is more a gauge of an individual's ability to retain information over long periods of time than it is of an individual's ability to cram a lot of information in immediately prior to a test. That being said, if you've got a significant amount of time to study before taking the test, getting in the habit of consuming informative media such as science magazines or books on history will help you excel on this section of the assessment.

Quantitative reasoning is more straightforward: put crudely, this section of the test measures mathematical prowess. What's important to note is that it focuses more on raw mathematical ability than it does on mathematical knowledge, i.e. knowing advanced calculus is not necessarily going to help you, where practicing tricky calculations will.

The working memory section tests your ability to retain information in the short-term. This part of the test is really interesting to study for because it is probably the section of the test where you can most influence your results through study. The techniques the world champions of memory use to do things such as memorize five hundred and fifty sequenced digits in five minutes can be learned by laypeople and will drastically improve your results on this section of the Stanford-Binet.

The visual-spacing processing part of the assessment tests your ability to model and visualize the world around you. This section, similar to the knowledge section of the test, is harder to study for in this case because this section is very much testing for raw brain power versus behaviors and skills that can be learned. Still, there are a wealth of visual-spacing exercises available online to help practice for this section of the test also.

StanfordBinetTest.com is an independent site and your results on our free online Stanford Binet Test are not guaranteed to accurately represent the score you would achieve on a professionally administered test.